This past week was incredibly momentous for the pantry.

On Wednesday (May 8) the pantry celebrated its 15th anniversary with a blessing of the Lord’s Acre of Fletcher and Tierra Fertile gardens, followed by a wonderful dinner with live music. Rev.  J. Clarkson gave a slide presentation of the history of the pantry and honored Carol Romine and Lois Pryor. They identified the need in our community and provided the vision and effort to open a food pantry in a small closet space in the Calvary Episcopal parish hall in 2009. The pantry now operates out of a 5,000 sq ft building, “The Center of Hope”.

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This Saturday (5/4) was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 127 Households comprising 437 individuals.  We welcomed 13 new Households having 30 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 18 weeks households served have increased 7% and individual counts within those households have increased 10% compared to 2023.

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This Saturday was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 115 Households comprising 420 individuals.  We welcomed 5 new Households having 23 members. We continue to show increases over last year. Through 17 weeks Households served have increased 8% and individual counts within those Households have increased 12% compared to 2023.

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This Saturday was another busy morning in the pantry as we served 132 Households comprising 469 individuals.  We welcomed 4 new Households having 12 members. Through 16 weeks we have served 173 more Hhouseholds and 7,027 individuals compared to 2003. Exciting news – May 8th.  Save the date. We will be celebrating two milestones as part of Rogation Day.

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Things are shaping up at the pantry garden. Four Nativity members collaborated in creating a colorful mural to decorate our tool shed. Designed by Ken Oehm, the artwork was brilliantly executed by Garden Master Doug Kearny supported by Paster Sean and Rubye. Additionally, all plants appear to be growing well. Fresh produce is a favorite of many clients and soon we will be harvesting and offering it on future Saturday mornings.

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"Take me out to the Ballpark!"  Yes you heard it here first!  What an exciting day at the Bill Moore Community Park in Fletcher on Saturday! It was the Fletcher Youth Baseball & Softball Opening Day Celebration and Calvary Food Pantry Benefit. Not only did Mayor Preston Blakely throw out the first pitch, but all 300 youth baseball and softball players donated a canned good or made a monetary donation to the Pantry. Over 400 pounds of food items were donated along with a $250.00 check from the Youth League and $233.00 from raffle ticket sales.

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On Easter weekend we welcomed 134 households representing 451 individuals. This includes 10 new households comprised of 26 individuals. In addition to their regular shopping, each household was offered additional food to prepare an Easter dinner of ham, potatoes, fresh broccoli, pineapple, dinner rolls and butter.

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Easter partially arrived a week early at the Pantry on the 23rd. Thanks to Lois, the waiting room was filled with an abundance of Easter baskets, toys and miscellaneous other items reflecting the celebration of the upcoming holiday. This coming Saturday March 30 we fill follow-up with foods for a traditional Easter dinner including delicious hams.

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St. Patrick's Day came a day early at the Pantry on Saturday. Not only was Lois distributing some holiday items, but green peppers and "green" salad were offered to the neighbors. Linda prepared tasty vegan bites and bean salsa for the neighbors to sample.  Some nutrition tips and a recipe were offered too. On Thursday night in the Lord's Acre of Fletcher – our garden – collards were planted and lettuce was harvested.

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Last Tuesday night at our Executive Board meeting, we welcomed our Garden Master, Doug Kearney and Michael Schruckmayr. Michael presented an Eagle Scout Project to us. He suggested a plan to plant a pollinator garden to enhance the health of our garden and bees. Along with scouts from his troop, they will place plants native to Western North Carolina in the area beside the shed. 

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Steady State performed at Blue Ghost Brewery on Saturday, March 2. Proceeds from the Fundraiser were shared with the Pantry and Cancer Society. What a great evening to spend with our community friends and enjoy some fellowship time too! On Monday, two of our house carpenters, Jack and Kim, were busy sawing and installing beams to build additional shelving above our pallets. On Tuesday, a Manna-sponsored food drive brought Kelly Deese from Hendersonville Middle School with an SUV filled with 297 pounds of food items for the pantry.

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February has proven to be another eventful month at the Pantry. Donations have been generous as our "neighbor numbers" continue to increase. A monetary contribution from the Thrift Shop, located at St. James Episcopal Church, Hendersonville, has helped us meet the goal of 3 1/2 days of food or 11 meals for each of our families. This week is no exception to the activities. Last Saturday, the youth volunteers filled 50 bags of sand at the garden to hold a tarp in place as we begin our spring gardening. 

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Last Saturday, with below freezing February temperatures, we provided a warm welcome to our neighbors.  Linda offered our neighbors a recipe and a sample for a tasty smoothie made with various canned and/or fresh food items available in the pantry this week. It was quite a busy morning assisting 137 families representing 486 individuals. Six new families were provided 3 1/2 days of food for the week.

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On S-O-U-P-E-R Bowl Sunday, youth from Lutheran Church of the Nativity shared their interpretation of "The Big Game!" The dynamic youth group asked their congregation to bring soup and other food items along with monetary donations to support the food pantry. Over twenty boxes and bags of food were delivered for distribution on Saturday. We are so appreciative of their time and effort to help reduce food insecurity in our community.

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It's always a bountiful week when there's a MANNA delivery.  The banana boxes were filled with hams, canned goods, condiments, rice and dried beans....a favorite during the winter season.  Some of the items provided by The Emergency  Food Assistance Program, a "bonus food" was canned salmon, corn, green beans, nuts, cheese, fruit, and lentils.

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The countdown is on 29, 28, 27......By early March, The Lord's Acre of Fletcher, our garden, will be in full swing again. Just this past week Doug picked the last of 49 pounds of collards which will be offered to our neighbors on Saturday. The beets continue to mature and will be harvested soon. We are presently working on a more flexible garden schedule where more volunteers might be able to participate in weekly maintenance duties. Stay tuned!

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Last Saturday was not for the weak of heart but for the hardy. It was everything Jason, the WLOS meteorologist, promised.... Weather Warn Day....CCCCCold and flurries!!!   We are so fortunate to have volunteers who are not only hardy but arrived well before our morning food distribution time.  The Vinings have lived in the Buffalo, NY area. Kim has lived in Maine, and Jeff in Michigan. While others of us have experienced the four seasons in the Asheville area.

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Some folks may have a viewpoint about Number 13.... might be lucky, unlucky or just another number. For us at the Pantry, we believe this past Saturday, 13th was a sign of how much the volunteers enjoy opportunities to work, meet new friends, and share volunteering time with family members. Christ School students assisted in many ways including unloading, weighing and shelving food from a SUV filled with donations of food as part of a High Vista Chili Cook Off and Food Drive.

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Last Friday night, I would imagine many of us fell asleep with visions of snowflakes floating in our heads...only to wake to a cold, rainy, blustery morning. Questions arose right away. Are the roads icy? Is the Pantry open? To put it all to rest, if we are not open on the regular schedule, we will notify WLOS of our closing and asked to be included in the scroll across the bottom of the TV screen. Several neighbors were already in line when the early birds arrived at 6:00 am to open up.

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Happy New Year! Haven't updated our newsletter since last year! Our pantry was filled with fourteen eager "Inventory Volunteers" on Day TWO of 2024. Thanks to pantry coffee and a box of Ava's scrumptious doughnuts inventory was completed in record time. With pen, paper, and scale on hand every bar of soap to bag of chips was weighed, recorded, and available for our neighbors this past Saturday. Appreciate the prep work of our Kim's with data bases, numbered shelves, and logistics all sorted out for efficient information gathering.

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